Wonderful to see family parties of Whooper Swans arriving safely to the Isle of Islay after successful breeding seasons. Juvenile birds have a duller plumage with a lack of yellow on the bill and as you can see by this photo, there are mainly young birds pictured. #MullWildlifeTour #mullwildlife #IsleofMull #IsleofIslay #islay #NatureScotland #IoloWilliams #EwanMiles #ecotourism #IslayWildlife #WinterWildlife #ScotlandWildlife

Northern Gannets are feeding incredibly hard around Hebridean waters at the moment, taking advantage of the large food supply and presumably a strong mackerel run. On yesterdays tour we watched a cloud of 200+ Gannets feeding right into the head of Lochbuie for over an hour and they were even accompanied by three 1st winter White-tailed Eagles! This photo was taken aboard a Sea Life Surveys excursion I was crewing on last week. #MullWildlifeTour #mullwildlife #MullTour #MullP

My local haunt on the island. Sightings from the garden have included Common Dolphins, WT Eagles, Golden Eagle hinting Snipe and regular Hen Harriers!! A panoramic seascape from north west Mull... www.naturescotland.com | www.naturemull.com #IsleofMull #mull #NatureScotland #WinterWildlife #WildlifeBlog #WildlifeTours #MullWildlifeTours #EwanMiles #Wildlife #ecotourism #Hebrides

The value of birds of prey to rural areas continues to increase... The latest study of its economic value concluded it had contributed more than £8.2m since it opened to the public. It has attracted more than 100,000 visitors and supported the equivalent of about 20 full-time jobs in the region. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-38558203?SThisFB #ecotourism #WildlifeTourism #WildlifeBlog #WildlifeTours #MullWildlifeTours #IsleofMull #RedKites #MullPhotograp

Despite the challenging weather conditions at the start of the tour we had a wonderful five day experience on the island with Iolo Williams and guests. Sightings included White-tailed Eagles, Golden Eagle, Hen Harriers, Basking Sharks, Minke Whale, Harbour Porpoise, Arctic Skuas, Great Skuas, Storm Petrels, Manx Shearwaters, Gannets, Black-tailed Godwits, Common Scoter, Mountain Hares, Tawny Owls, Red-throated Divers, Harbour Seals, Grey Seals, Red Deer, Fallow Deer and a won

We enjoyed watching and listening to a Common Whitethroat on our Ardnamurchan Tour yesterday. Another highlight was a female Peregrine soaring overhead along with two White-tailed Eagles. Three different Cuckoos were seen on the wing and other records included Whinchat, Stonechat, Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings, Sedge Warbler and Ravens. #NatureScotland #WildlifeBlog #ArdnamurchanWildlifeTour #ArdnamurchanWildlife #EwanMiles #WildlifeTourism #ecotourism #Photography

Only 3 spaces left, who else is joining us in August? #IoloWilliams #MullWildlifeTours #NatureScotland #ecotourism #WildlifeTourism #IsleofMull #WildlifeTours

We had a memorable encounter with Bottlenose Dolphins last week, with 6 animals interacting with us. We watched animals throwing seaweed into the air and also bow riding on Sula Beag. There was some really good indicators of feeding, with waters hotting up for the season ahead. #NatureScotland #IsleofMull #WildlifeTours #Photography #MinkeWhale #ecotourism #EwanMiles #ShareNature

There are no prizes for guessing where the name 'Fossil Burn' on the Morvern peninsula originated from... It is covered in fossil oysters, or Gryphaea, that lived on the shoreline of a tropical sea here 200 million years ago. Whilst these Bivalves were living in the shallow seas, predators like Velociraptors would be ruling the surrounding landmass. While admiring these fossils I saw one of a Velociraptors avian-ancestorial cousins overhead, the White-tailed Eagle! #wildl

Rhizostoma pulmo, commonly known as the barrel jellyfish, washed up on Mull earlier this month. They are a large jellyfish boasting domes "the size of dustbin lids" growing to 90cm wide! One of the biggest predators of the barrel jellyfish is the Leatherback Turtle, which are occasionally recorded in UK waters. #ecotourism #Mull #WildlifeBlog #WildlifeTours #MullWildlifeTours #EwanMiles #ShareNature

We found this Little Auk washed up on the NW side of Mull last week. Mixed emotions of course but amazing to see this compact bird close up as it is only slightly larger than a Starling! #ecotourism #LittleAuk #StoemHenry #Photography #ShareNature #Wildlife #Hebrides

Earlier this week (2nd Feb) on the Isle of Mull we found our first Frogspawn of the year! Has anyone else seen Frogspawn yet this year? You can submit your records to support Amphibian and Reptile Conservation and Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK - ARG UK here - http://www.recordpool.org.uk/ #NatureScotland #Mull #ShareNature #Wildlife #ecotourism #Hebrides #EwanMiles

Amazing seascapes yesterday watching Storm Henry at work on the north coast of Mull! Great-northern Divers, Shags and Rock Pipits around the coast with Golden Eagles, Buzzards, Ravens and Gulls up on the wing inland. #StormHenry #ecotourism #Mull #EwanMiles #ShareNature #Wildlife #Photography #Hebrides

See what the tide will bring... We were privileged to see six species of raptor on today’s Mull Wildlife Tour which included this immature White-tailed Eagle perched on the shoreline. We also encountered two Otters foraging in sheltered sea lochs and Red Deer hunkered down in their woodland refuge. I am just getting prepared for tonight’s Stargazing Tour, can't wait! #GoldenEagle #Mull #Wildlife #ecotourism #ShareNature #NatureScotland #Hebrides #wildlife

John Miles and myself interviewed today on BBC Look North (1 min 40 sec), broadcast this evening. A great day in Northumberland with 2 Hen Harriers, female Peregrine and 2 Barn Owls, along with the sensational winterscapes. Back to Mull at the weekend, I am going to miss the good old north of England! #EwanMiles #ShareNature #Wildlife #ecotourism #Northumberland #BBCLookNorth

An alternative New Year lights display! As the clock struck 12 last night and fireworks could be seen and heard down in the lower ground, I was treated to a different display, as the northern lights blossomed into the early hours. Another great spectacle was Jupiter rising to the east in close conjunction with the waning gibbous moon. Interacting Tawny Owls provided some wonderful soundscapes. Happy New Year everyone! #NorthernLights #AuroraBorealis #ShareNature #ecotourism #

I am currently down in Cumbria staying with family and last week we were treated to a sighting of this Barn Owl out hunting an hour before sunset. After the encounter I was curious to why the species behave differently on Mull to the Barn Owls in Cumbria. In my experience the Barn Owls on Mull are almost entirely nocturnal, with records of crepuscular hunting in the summer when there is little darkness. One theory to this is that there are more diurnal hunting raptors on Mull

We have had some wonderful Golden Eagle observations in recent weeks, which have included nest building, an attempted Buzzard predation and some sky dancing displays. The forecast is good for tomorrow so I'm going to spend a day monitoring a Golden Eagle territory to see what else I can learn from this amazing species. On our tours we try to make sure that the species information we provide is from our driect field observations with Mull's wildlife. #GoldenEagle #ShareNature

A young Red Deer stag along with a hind on the Isle of Mull yesterday. These mammals blend in so will with the Molinia grass at this time of the year. Other sightings included 6 Golden Eagles, 3 White-tailed Eagles, 3 Hen Harriers, 2 Otters, 10 Turnstones, Slavonian Grebe, Great-northern Divers, Red-breasted Mergansers, Teal, Wigeon and Redshanks. #RedDeer #EwanMiles #ecotourism #Wildlife #Mull #ShareNature

Christmas has come early here on Mull! While out in the field on the east side of the island we found this Golden Eagle secondary wing feather! It will go straight into the education box to use on future tours. #Wildlife #Mull #ShareNature #ecotourism #EwanMiles